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As most folks who watch real estate probably know by now, Zillow recently acquired Trulia, and that is big news. What most folks don’t know however, is that Zillow and Trulia have great websites, BUT, they do not have all the MLS listings that are available, and they never have. Z and T are really lead gen site for agents, and not an optimal place to search for homes and especially try to ascertain values – we in the business know that, but most of the public do not.

As of the date of this post, there is currently legal maneuvers going on between Trulia and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) over listing feeds. NAR owns ListHub which manages and negotiates syndication rights agreements between local MLS systems (like FMLS and GMLS here in Atlanta) to allow third parties like Zillow & Trulia to obtain MLS feeds of active Broker listings for their sites.

Apparently ListHub, notified Trulia that it will not longer supply MLS feeds to Trulia after April 1, which I am sure sent shockwaves throughout the Z & T companies! Trulia then went to court and obtained an injunction to delay NAR from stopping its MLS feeds.

Meanwhile, Zillow is reaching out to Brokers directly to ask permission to showcase the Brokers local MLS listings – I just signed an agreement to allow Zillow to have Advantage Realtors listings on its websites yesterday. To me having Advantage Realtors partner with Zillow just means more exposure for my sellers, and there is a clause where I can revoke that right. In the end this is all about NAR and Zillow battling for market share and each Broker will have to decide if they want Zillow to have the right to show their listings on its website properties. Right now Realtor.com has the most listings and the most updated listings, but none of these web powerhouses can match the accuracy and freshness of data on local Broker MLS IDX systems.

If your looking in North Atlanta’s residential markets and searching for homes for sale in East Cobb or homes for sale in North Fulton, Advantage Realtors Dual MLS Homescanner home search software is the best way to see the most up to date and accurate listings from both big GA MLS Systems FMLS and GMLS – we are members of both MLS systems.

Robert Whitfield is the Broker/Owner of Advantage Realtors, and is also a Licensed Building Inspector and New Home Construction Expert, and can be reached at 678-585-9691.